Tag Archives: skin deep

If you’re a man and your doctor finds that you have low levels of testosterone, what would your doc prescribe?

Probably some kind of testosterone gel or cream.

(By the way, the above prescription completely ignores the reason WHY your testosterone is low in the first place. But that’s a blog for another day.)

Or let’s say you’re a smoker who really wants to kick the habit. What would you go out and buy?

Probably a nicotine patch of some kind, right?

What these two examples have in common is that by applying a substance to the skin, it is delivered transdermally to the bloodstream in just a matter of seconds.

What we put onto our bodies gets into our bodies.

But what about the personal care products we use every day — the soaps, shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and lotions?

Do their chemical contents have a similar fate, with their foaming and wetting agents, synthetic fragrances, and antifreeze-like compounds eventually pumping through our veins?

Darn right they do.

According to the Environmental Working Group, the typical consumer uses an average of nine personal care products containing 126 separate ingredients every day. At least one-third of these ingredients have been identified as causing cancer or other serious health conditions. (Fitzgerald, 23)